Lusus Naturae
by Razielim Vampiress
Summary: Lusus Naturae : an unusual thing, something that has developed in an atypical way. Latin, meaning "whim of nature."


_**Title:**Lusus Naturae_

_**Author:**__Razielim Vampiress_

_**Rating:**__PG - 13_

_**Warnings:**__None_

_**Disclaimer:**__The Legacy of Kain series in its entirety belongs to Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. I own nothing but the plot of this story and any original characters herein. I am making no profit whatsoever in this._

_**Summary:**_Lusus Naturae_ : an unusual thing, something that has developed in an atypical way. Latin, meaning "whim of nature."_

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><p>Cyan eyes fluttered closed as the vampire sank his fangs deep into mortal flesh, the sharp pop of breaking skin chased by a satisfying burst of crimson. Rahab practically purred as the metallic tang coated his mouth and coursed down his throat, the hunger gnawing at his core finally beginning to subside as warmth seeped into his veins.<p>

A sultry moan fell from perfect Cupid's Bow lips as the human let her head fall back, offering her master ample room to feed. The Rahabim lord held her tightly against him, arms wrapped loosely around her hourglass waist. Small hands rose to gently touch his unbound hair, the waist-length wavy tresses shimmering between her slender fingers like liquid onyx. A picturesque mockery of two lovers' embrace.

Rahab slowed his feeding to a gentle sipping, reveling in this rare moment of sensory overload; the exquisite flow of the girl's lifeblood. The diaphanous cotton of the chemise under his hands, a paper-thin barrier between him and her soft dusky skin. He suppressed a shiver as her weak fingernails grazed his scalp before languorously retracing their path through his hair once more. Ahh… such a willing feast…

With an almost agonizing slowness, the savant slipped his left hand up along her side, cupping her small breast. Her dark nipples showed clearly through the thin white slip, and he felt them harden instantly as his thumb teasingly circled the sensitive flesh, inducing a tiny pleased gasp from the girl.

The young lieutenant could feel the lust rolling off of her in waves. It emanated from her very pores, infusing the air around them with an intoxicating aura. His fangs managed to sink deeper into her as he nuzzled her throat. Beneath the delicate odor of sandalwood oil, there was the faintest spicy scent of her sweat, and below that, on a more secret stratum of smell, her unadulterated raw flesh. Like the hint of an exotic perfume lingering after a woman has long-since left the room, it teased and tantalized the senses, luring him in as if he harkened to a siren's song.

Supping on her very life, Rahab suddenly found himself inexplicably wanting even more. He yearned to pry into her mind and consume every scrap of pathos and ethos her mortal brain could eek out, to tear through the spectral veil between their physical forms and touch her vivacious living spirit with the corruptive tendrils of his own, and ultimately devour every aspect of her the way only his kind could.

With his consciousness resting so close to hers, it was an easy thing to look into her soul. With a slight of will, Rahab could see every hope and dream, every fear and uncertainty that had ever lay nestled in the darkest recesses of cellular memory; a stillborn son, a deserting husband, frigid and dissentient parents. And lost among it all was a terrified, overwhelmed young girl striving to be the grown woman whom all expected her to be.

Such a funny thing, mortality. The will to survive, that he understood perfectly. All life is to fear for life, and when threatened, would react accordingly. But exactly why? What was the purpose? What drove a mortal to cling so desperately to life one moment, then plunge into such a state of unhappiness and hopelessness the next? No matter how many souls he had glimpsed, no matter how long he would attempt to scrutinize it, Rahab knew he would never be able to truly comprehend the Living. But their contradictory nature piqued his interest. It didn't particularly distress him, however. He had no illusions concerning his inhumanity. The young lieutenant looked at it from no more than a philosophical, albeit idiosyncratic, mindset.

The slowing of the girl's heart signaled her fading cognizance. Almost regrettably, he swallowed the last mouthful of blood and withdrew his incisors. Eyes as blue and cold as lapis lazuli gazed down on the dying maiden with cruel satisfaction. Many claim that there is nothing beautiful about death. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Although her head had lolled back due to the lack of support, almond shaped eyes still stared up at him, half-lidded and glassy, the reverence slowly draining from her expression. Sensuous lips were parted slightly as her shallow breaths faded into silence. The wicked puncture wounds in the hollow of her throat oozed a faintly pinkish clear liquid, and the cinnamon-brown of her skin had been leeched of all color, the silver moonlight filtering in through the open terrace lending the corpse an almost ethereal radiance.

Perhaps the picture wasn't such a grim mockery after all, he pondered as he gently eased her into a reclined position. Momentary though it was, Rahab had loved her for her effervescent life, and she had loved him for presenting the gift that she had so yearned for. A graceful end. How poignant, he mused.

Almost tenderly, he reached out and lightly trailed a claw along her jaw line. Her sable hair was fanned out around her like a dark halo, giving her a sort of angelic quality. Rahab leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her cooling lips before languidly rising from his seat, leaving her sprawled gracefully over a velvet divan, and returned out into the night.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: The first story I've written in over two years... I'm a little proud of this one. I've missed you, Legacy of Kain series...


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